Carpet stretcher and tacker.



N0- 808,123. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. S. TATTRIE & J. SCHMIDT. CARPET STRBTCHER AND TAGKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAYIQ. 1905.

Witness Attorneys UNITE s'rarns PATENT OFFICE.

SIDNEY TATTRIE AND JOHN SCHMIDT, OF LEBANON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN- ORS OF ONE-THIRD TO SAID SCHMIDT AND TWO-THIRDS TO FRANK POIGEE, OF LEBANON, ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application filed May 19, 1905. Serial No. 261,231.

16 (all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known thatwe, SIDNEY TATTRIE and JOHN SCHMIDT, citizens of the United States, residing at Lebanon, in the county of St. Clair and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Carpet Stretcher and Tacker, of which the following is a specification.-

This invention relates to carpet stretchers and tackers, and has for its principal object to provide a tool of simple construction by which a carpet may be stretched along the floor and tacked while the operator stands in erect position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of tack-discharging device whereby single tacks may be successively fed from a magazine as the hammer-rodis manipulated, the tacks falling by gravity to a position directly in the path of movement of the rod.

WVith these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accomp anying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carpet stretcher and tacker constructed in accordance with the invention, a portion of the handle being broken away to show the hammer-rod spring. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of the device, drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views, on an enlarged scale, of the tackdischarging mechanism.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The handle 10 may be of any desired length, and preferably is formed of two or more sections for convenience in inserting the hammer-rod 11 and its spring 12, the spring encircling the rod and having its lower end secured to the handle and its upper end to the rod, so that it will be placed under stress when the rod is pulled upward and will tend to force the rod down to aid in driving the tacks. To the lower end of the handle is secured a nose-piece 13, having a terminal tooth 14, arranged slightly in advance of the hammer-rod and serving as a means for engaging the carpet during the stretching operation. Connected to the handle by a link 15 is a foot-piece 16, having at its forward end a plate 17, that is provided with a number of teeth for engagement with the carpet, the foot-piece being held down while thetooth 14 is engaged with the carpet some distance in advance of the plate 17, and then the bandle is manipulated to draw the foot-piece forward, and further stretching may be accomplished by holding the foot-piece down and moving the tooth 14 back close to the plate 17 and then by a backward pull at the top of the handle moving the tooth 14 forward and away from the plate 17, and while thus held the hamm er-rod is operated and the tack driven.

The nose-piece 13 is provided with a suitable opening for the passage of the hammerrod, and the mouth of the opening is normally closed by a pair of springs 18 and 19, which form a converging channel or pocket for the reception of the tacks, the latter be ing directed into the pocket, point downward, by means of an obliquely-disposed channel 20, into which the tacks fall one by one from a magazine 21. The magazine 21 is preferably formed of sheet metal and is T- shaped in sectional plane in order to hold the tacks in proper position,the tacks passing by gravity down toward the end of the magazine and the lowermost tack being engaged by a pivoted discharging member 24. The discharging member 24 has a flat face 25, on which the lowermost tack rests, and is provided with a projecting finger 26, which by engagement with the tack will carry the same from the reservoir while the curved rear face of the finger affords a support for the next lowermost tack. At a point opposite the finger the discharge member is provided with a lug 27 to be engaged by a tongue 28, that projects from a channel-bar 29, arranged in a suitable recess formed in the handle.

The channel-bar 29 is pivotally supported at its upper end on a pin 30, and its lower end is pressed into engagement with the hammerrod by means of a spring 31, an intermediate portion of the spring being coiled around the pin 32, that is carried by the channel-bar, and the upper end of the string resting against the handle proper, while the lower end bears ICO against the intermediate web of the channelbar at a point adjacent to the lower end thereof.

In the operation of the device the magazine is filled with tacks, the lowermost tack falling to a position of rest in contact with the flat surface 25 of the delivery member 24:. When in normal position, the hammer-rod is held down by the spring 12; but when the hammer-rod is withdrawn until its lower end is above the lower end of the channel-bar 29 said channel-bar will be forced inward by its spring 31, and the tongue 28, engaging lug 27, will rock the delivery member, causing tooth 26 to engage said lowermost tack and force the same from the magazine, the tack falling point downward through the passage 20 until it is caught in the pocket formed by the two springs 18 and 19 and is then in the path of travel of the hammer-rod, so that when the latter is forced downward, either manually or by the retraction of the spring 12, the tack will be driven. When the delivery-tongue 26 moves forward to effect the discharge of the tack, the second tack from the bottom will engage with the curved back of the tooth, and the column of tacks will thus be supported in the magazine, and the parts will continue in this position until the hammer-rod moves down past the lower end of the channel-bar, whereupon the latter will be moved out and the delivery member will be rocked positively in the oppositedirection, the tooth 26 passing from engagement with the tacks, and the column of tacks then falling until the lowermost tack rests on the flat face 25 of the delivery member.

With a device of this class it is obvious that the carpet may be stretched and the tacks rapidly driven into the stretched portion of the carpet with ease and rapidity.

The recess in which the tack-receptacle and tack-delivering devices are arranged may be provided with an outer closing-plate 40, having a transparent panel 41, as shown in Fig. 3.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a device ,of the class specified, the combination with a handle, of a hammer-rod extending therethrough, a tack-magazine, a pivotally-mounted discharging device affording a support for the column of tacks in the magazine and having a tongue for engaging and discharging the successive lowermost tacks, a pivotally-mounted bar for operating the tack-discharger, and a spring for moving the bar inward into engagement with the hammer-rod and across the path of movement of said hammer-rod.

2. In a device of the class specified, the

scales combination with the handle, of a hammerrod extending therethrough, a tack-magazine open at its lower end, a tack-discharge block affording a support for the column of tacks in the magazine, a tongue carried by the block and arranged to engage the successive lowermost tacks a lug projecting from said block, a pivotally-mounted bar having a finger engaging the lug, and a spring tending to move the bar into contact with the hammer-rod, and into the path of movement of said hammer-rod.

3. In a device of the class specified, the combination with a handle, of a hammer-rod extending therethrough, there being a recess at one side of the handle which extends into the hammer-rod-guiding opening, a tackmagazine secured to one wall of the recess and open at its lower end, a pivotally-mounted discharge-block arranged to support the column of tacks in the magazine and provided with a discharging-finger for engaging the successive lowermost tacks and for supporting the column of tacks during such discharge, a lug projecting from the block, a bar pivoted at its upper end to the handle and disposed within the recess, a spring tending to move the lower end of the bar into the hammer-rod-guiding opening, and interen gaging means between said bar and block.

4. In a device of the class specified, the combination with a handle having a recessed lower portion and provided with a central bore and with an obliquely-arranged opening leading from the recess to said central bore, a hammer-rod guided in the central bore, a spring tending to impel the hammerrod in driving direction, a channel-bar pivoted within the recess, a spring having one end bearing against the channel-bar and tending to move the same across the bore, a tack-reservoir disposed within the recess and having a lower open end, a block pivoted within the recess and having a flat surface for the support of the column of tacks, a tongue projecting from the block and arranged to engage successively lowermost tacks, said tongue serving as a support for the column of tacks during the discharging operation, a lug projecting from the block, and a finger carried by the bar and engaging said lug.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our sigi1atures in the presence of two witnesses.

SIDNEY TATTRIE. JOHN SCHMIDT.

Witnesses:

E. L. WAeeoNER, JOHN C. LOUDEN. 

